How Do I Disclose My Abuse?

I talk about my childhood sexual abuse very publicly now, but I didn’t start there. The first time I ever told anyone I’d been abused it didn’t go very well. For years, I’d repressed most of my childhood memories when suddenly, in my early twenties, I knew I’d been abused. The knowledge came in a flash. I didn’t have any specific recall, know who my abuser was or feel any pain, but I was sure I’d been sexually abused.

I thought my parents would want to know, so the first chance I got, I visited them. When I walked in their house, my mom stood in the kitchen. We made small talk for a few minutes, but I couldn’t wait to tell her the reason for my visit, so I blurted out, “I was sexually abused.” I heard a booming voice from the other room where my dad was watching television, “NO, YOU WEREN’T!!!” My mother responded without interest, as though I never said a word.

Years later, when the memories flooded back and I realized that my dad was my abuser while my mom looked the other way, their responses made so much sense. I didn’t know it then, but now I know that telling my parents wasn’t the best place to begin disclosing my abuse.

Breaking the silence of abuse is a vital step toward healing. The secrets you hold actually hold you, keeping you captive to the abuser’s power. Telling is a way to break free from the bond the secret created between you and your abuser.

The way you take the first few steps in disclosure can influence whether you advance or withdraw in your healing. Telling a safe person who validates you makes it easier to go on to the next part of the process. When you disclose your abuse to someone who is compassionate, understanding, and accepting, it’s a relief to know you’re no longer alone. However, sharing emotionally vulnerable moments with someone who is unsupportive may cause you to feel even more isolated and can hinder your progress.

Though many survivors of abuse assume that their family will believe them and comfort them, that isn’t always true. In fact, it’s very common for families to reject rather than support the survivor. Sometimes parents reject the possibility that their child was abused because to accept the truth is too painful. Sometimes the disclosure brings up pain from their own abuse. They might also feel personally threatened. They may view it as an accusation that they aren’t good parents for failing to protect you.

Many victims of sexual abuse are abused by family members. In that case, other family members may have divided loyalties. If the daughter was abused by Grandpa, parents have to choose one family member over another. Many family members are unwilling to do that, especially if they have their own unmet needs from the relationship with the abuser.

If you are a survivor of incest, there’s an excellent chance that you’re not the only victim in your family and your abuser isn’t the only perpetrator. In incest families the family system has a culture that protects itself by keeping the secret. That system’s survival depends on the secret being kept. They will sacrifice one member for the sake of the system. In most cases, the survivor who is willing to talk about the abuse is the healthiest person in the family. The survivor is the one who recognizes the truth the earliest and seek change and healing, while the others see survival by maintaining the status quo. That is a threat to the family unit and the person who wants change is often viewed as the enemy. Because of personal defenses, your family isn’t always likely to be the best source of support and understanding.

The best chance to receive a supportive response is to begin by telling a friend who’s trustworthy and comfortable with emotions. Choose a friend you feel safe with and who doesn’t know your abuser—someone who doesn’t have anything to lose in believing you.

A few years after telling my parents, I was validated by a group of women who openly discussed their own abuse. I learned from them that talking about abuse is nothing to be ashamed about. I was accepted and believed and I felt like I belonged. With their support, I had a firm foundation and I started to see that healing was possible.

I had mostly good experiences for many years. Occasionally, someone would get a blank stare and put up a defensive wall and I knew they didn’t want to hear anymore. That was okay. By then, I was well on my way to healing and I understood that people have their own issues and their own needs may not allow them to hear me. I didn’t take it personally anymore.

My next stage in disclosure was speaking to a group of about forty people, many of whom knew my father. I wasn’t sure what their reaction would be, but I felt ready to share it, no matter their response. I had enough of a support system, within myself and with others, so I was secure and didn’t need anything from them. I just wanted the opportunity to share the truth. They were overwhelmingly supportive.

I was validated by the group, but when I went home that night I heard a little girl’s voice in my head saying, “You told,” in an accusing tone. I recognized that the little girl was the little girl inside of me. She was the one who was warned not to tell. She was the one who was afraid and felt threatened. But as my adult self, I wasn’t under my father’s power anymore and he couldn’t do anything to hurt me. So I comforted myself with that and validated my progress—and continued to tell.

After that, I published the story of my abuse history online. I wanted it to be public. I wanted the whole world to see it. I wasn’t afraid of my dad finding out. I wanted my parents to read what I wrote. I wanted them to know I was talking about it. I felt empowered and strong.

My last step was talking on the radio. It felt natural and comfortable to talk about it. It was an affirming step and I felt good. But the next day, I was exhausted and felt defeated. In hearing myself speak about it, I accepted and understood my abuse in a different way, which helped me to tap into new levels of grief I hadn’t touched before. It felt bad, but it was part of the process and I was happy to be taking another step.

Even if you’ve been telling for years, you may experience new feelings as you take different steps. Take time to evaluate how you feel after each new step. Those feelings need to be validated and expressed. Emotions are good, even if they’re painful. Just as in all parts of the healing process, it’s important to take small steps and proceed at your own rate.

Part of telling is choosing who you tell and don’t tell. You don’t have any control over how people will react, but you do have control over who you share it with. You don’t have to publish a book or post it online. Talking about your abuse to someone is important, but you don’t have to tell everyone and you aren’t a failure or a coward if you choose not to.

Talking about your abuse is important, but how you disclose it can make the difference in how beneficial it is. These are some things to remember to increase the chances that your disclosure will be well-received:

1. Start with someone who is emotionally available and who doesn’t know your abuser. 2. Start small and privately. 3. Evaluate your emotions and practice self care after each new step in disclosure. 4. Take time to validate yourself after you disclose. 5. If you want to make your abuse experience known to more people or disclose to your family, establish a base of support with trusted others first.

No matter how anyone responds, what happened to you was serious and you deserve to be treated well. Don’t allow anyone to keep you from doing what’s best for you. You may not get the validation you need from everyone, but you can validate yourself.

PLEASE NOTE that there are situations where your safety would be put in jeopardy if you speak of your abuse publicly. Ritual abuse is one example of that. Please use extreme caution if your disclosure would put you in danger.

I’m Christina Enevoldsen and I’m the cofounder of Overcoming Sexual Abuse and the author of The Rescued Soul: The Writing Journey for the Healing of Incest and Family Betrayal. I’m a Strategic Interventionist and Certified Professional Life Coach with a specialty Life Story Certification. As a survivor of incest, sex trafficking and a 21-year long abusive marriage (now remarried to an emotionally healthy, loving and supportive man), I bring personal experience, empathy, and insight as well as professional training to help childhood sexual abuse survivors thrive.

93 thoughts on “How Do I Disclose My Abuse?”

wow, christina, between you n darlene my mind is spinning abit. your words on who u trust to tell is a big issue, yeah i have done alot of work on the blame n shame side of things and speak freely about those experiences n how they affected me then n now, but this mental understandin is now pushin me towards that core that i have skirted for years because it family behind the door stuff. not stuff done by those outside the family and not by ny walls tha have become my prison, but wot made my walls, wot actions put what breaks in what wall. i have been able to put skylights n knock a few bricks lose but never enough in one place to make any sense of the true reasons i react the wayi do/ did. i am changin n gettin mentally stronger, i hope it will serve me well in this last few barriers that need breakin

Wow, girl. That was an excellent teaching and I am saying teaching because it was with authority and empowerment. I couldn’t agree more with what you say and believe it to be a needed subject. I’m trying to remember who was the first person I told, and I can’t remember, but I do know, that there were different stages to telling others for me. i used to be very general….. I was abused. Then I started to say… I was sexually abused. As time went on, and I got stronger, then I was able to say……. i was sexually abused by so and so. And as I grew stronger and more empowered, I now say…… I was sexually abused by so and so and he did this to me.

Carol, I’m glad the article was helpful to you. The family issues are usually the most difficult to deal with. Once we deal with those, the rest is relatively easy. I’m happy to see how much progress you’re making and how much truth you’re willing to acknowledge in such a short time. I’m planning another blog soon that covers the next step: “What If My Family Rejects Me?” That will be really good, too! Thanks for all your encouragment, Carol! 🙂 Hugs, Christina

Patty, That’s a good point about telling in stages–that we only have to tell as much as we choose. Hey, did you know that you were part of the group of people I was referring to in the article? You were one of the first ones to ever give me support all those years ago. Look at us now!! Love always, Christina

Thank you for writing this out so clearly .. it is true we must be careful to whom we confine in. I have learned just as you have stated that there are many who can not be there for you .. maybe it is due to their own personal struggle or maybe they just don’t want to deal with it at all or get involved, however not everybody is going to be that way.

Though I will admit not having the person or persons that you think you should be able to go to not be there for you is traumatic .. that in of itself is like going through a death because in my own experience the way I viewed that individual was also changed thus the person whom I thought they were cease to exist. I am not saying that i hold it against them just that the relationship changed ..

Nikki, I appreciate what you say. I find it very challenging to get support from friends – even people who care about me. If they haven’t experienced incest – it feels like there is some kind of protective wall around their heart that tempers their empathy. Or perhaps they are being triggered on some level. They may very likely have been molested to some extent and suppressed it – so staying emotionally present isn’t possible for them until they open to their own experience. Since the statistic is 1 in 5 women have experienced sexual abuse – I wonder sometimes – among my friends, colleagues, and neighbors, where are the one in 5? I usually only meet survivors in specific situations like this blog, or environments focused on recovery. There are a lot of people in denial and it makes sense that our courage and willingness to unpack the baggage would be a source of anxiety for the them.

This article so cuts to the chase. The way it addresses the invalidation, secrecy and nasty family dynamics that go on in the incestuous family. Being shut out from “the family” has been the most disappointing yet empowering thing that has ever happened in my life, yet in reality it is the way it’s always been.. Kudos to us survivors, we have to be among some of the strongest people on this earth!

Nikki, I agree that rejection when we disclose can be traumatic. As children, we were forced to carry the secret alone and more isolation when we finally get the courage to tell can be very painful. And you’re right– it does require a change in the relationship. The other person is no longer comfortable knowing and accepting every part of us. In my life, that means that I have to be careful and guard my words– which reminds me so much of what I did to keep the secret all those years. Hugs, Christina

Sam, I can really relate to your statement, “Being shut out from “the family” has been the most disappointing yet empowering thing that has ever happened in my life,” That’s been my experience as well. Their strong reaction woke me up and required that I either stay in that system with the lies or break free and live my own truth. It’s been so liberating! Hugs, Christina

Christine – thank you for such a wonderful article. This is very helpful to me as I continue to learn to share the story. Over the years I’d attempted to share what I had experienced; I’d dropped hints that I wanted to talk only to be brushed aside from family and friends to the professionals. Of course I don’t know why my experiences weren’t validated – today I assume it was because they didn’t know how to help me with this.

It’s only been in the last 15 years or so that I came to realize then that what I’d experienced was not “normal” as these issues became more publicized in media and the subject started to be less of a dirty little secret. I told the majority of my story for the first time in a sexual assault support group – and as the story started to unfold, for the first time outside of my head, I began to see just how subtle the grooming was and just how not normal these experiences were. The other thing that happened is I started remembering more incidents – and being able to face the pain and grieve the past.

Telling the story helped me to begin to let go of the shame and the blame.

Thanks again – what you are doing here is so vital and so helpful to others who have “been there and done that”.

The problem w/ telling mine is that a defense attorney invalidated it to the point where a judge was forced to agree and let the defendants go free. Since then, I’ve never wanted to talk about it in detail again. I don’t feel like I should have had to prove anything, but going through the trial in what looked like a kangaroo court-to me, anyway-changed the desire to tell anyone else any particulars. Especially since, when every particular I told was cross-examined and re-cross examined, as per their rights as defendants. O_o And now they’re doing the same thing to a friend’s daughter, who’s 11 years old. And this guy is a real tool. He broke into their house and trashed the daughter’s bedroom but, b/c they can’t prove he actually did it-no witnesses-they can do practically nothing about it. Whatever happened to motive? He’s the only damn person w/ a reason to do that a day after he’s released on his own recognizance-whatever the hell THAT means. I thought the laws would have changed at least a little since it happened to me, but this is the same old stuff. I think the defense attorney should have to go to prison WITH the accused whenever you can prove they were defending a person knowing full well he was already guilty. See how many of them would still fall all over themselves to prove the innocence of a guilty person.

Vicki, I’m so sorry that the truth was invalidated in court. But the truth is the truth, no matter who rejects it. I hope you can affirm the truth within yourself enough to speak about it again. Hugs, Christina

After many years of keeping this secret of abuse within me, I wrote about it to a therapist, the thing is theres alot more than what i wrote on that paper, I’m finding myself constantly thinking about it, the numorous times it happened and all the diffrent abusers, the fact that it lasted for so many years. I find myself wanting to block all those memories the pain. I know that I remember everything that happened but i choose not to remember. I trust this therapist but i just cant open up on paper let alone speaking about it. I just cant. its affected my life and contiunes to affect my life in everyway..What do I do??

Sandra, Keeping the secret was necessary for survival and it’s hard to let go of that. Even when we recognize the truth to ourselves, it takes time to let it sink in. When I’d get a new memory, I’d accept it and then a day or two later think, “It COULDN’T be” I’d give myself a break from the reality by spending a few minutes in denail. I was still keeping the secret from myself. But after some time, I’d finally accept it as the truth.

I think it’s a similar process to telling others. Taking it a little at a time–not telling everything and just testing to see how that feels. Baby steps. One of my memories was too disgusting to tell anyone for a long time. It haunted me, but I couldn’t tell anyone either. I started out by just saying I’m keeping something to myself that I’m not ready to talk about. I imagined myself talking about and got used to it that way. And eventually I told two people and it wasn’t so bad. Then I was able to open up a little more. It’s all just a little at a time and being gentle. We didn’t have a choice about what happened to us, but we do have a choice how and when we talk about it. Christina

When a friend “liked” the OSA page on FB, I checked it out too, and “liked” it too. I wrote some comments on it, not realizing they were going to show up on friends’ pages. Whoops! So I outed myself without meaning to, but it’s been good–the ones who have stayed my friends now know why I’m a little off, and perhaps they’ve learned something about the ongoing consequences of child sexual abuse–that they don’t end when you turn 18.

i am trying hard 2 break my silence but have 2 b aware of my own safety as i was ritually abused within a strong masonic paedophile ring which is still active ……. my abusers maintain a strong presence around me locally and i am under constant threat of death from disclosure ….. i go under this name which has allowed me 2 speak out 2 some extent ………. i am fearful but i will not be completely silenced ………

I don’t really know what it’s like to keep it secret, not the rape anyway. I was too afraid I might have some terrible disease-it happened in 1985, when the AIDS scare was brand new w/ no cure for the disease. Back then I had to wait 9 months to find out if I had a disease that would kill me. They didn’t have any tests for it like they do now, and I had to sit there waiting to find out if I had AIDS. It was the worst 9 months of my life. The Victim Advocate-something else that was brand new in 1985-said that about the truth too. I’ve always wondered why everyone else is confident about it, but I’m not, even though I was there and should know better than anyone that it’s the truth. Their attorney tried to make it sound like, b/c I was living in an Orphanage when it happened, that there was doubt as to whether I wanted to have sex w/ them-even though I DIDN’T want to and said so. He tried to use my background almost as if he was trying to say orphans can’t be raped b/c they’re sluts or prostitutes. They aren’t allowed to use that as a defense anymore, but they could and did in the beginning of 1986.

I’m so sorry to hear how you were treated. Thank you for sharing what happened. It turned on a light bulb for me. My dad called me a slut from the time I was 7. When I got older he called me a lesbian or a whore. Now I see that he was programming me to think the rapes were my fault. Or that I wanted him to rape me. He believed women were insatiable sources of tantalizing evil, luring men to cave in to sexual deoravity. Even his 3 year old daughters. Sick!

Christina, I am BLOWN AWAY by how your story could easily be my own. With the exception that my father died 5 years before I remembered. But my mother didn’t believe me and I was shunned by my whole family. I started a blog recently, as my “coming out” party. If you start with the first entry from new years eve 2010, it sort of tells my story. Maybe you could have a look and share your thoughts with me? Your site and others like it have given me strength. God bless you and thank you for what you do!

Thank you so much for the work you and and for being so brave and courageous with your own experiences as well as supporting the rest of us out there on our long, arduous journey towards healing.

I was repeatedly abused as a minor by my middle school “boyfriend” and have struggled for years (happened when i was 13, I am now 28) with understanding what happened, not blaming myself, and most of all dealing with the humiliation that still follows me around. During the abuse, my abuser told everyone about what had happened except grossly exagerated some details, made it look as though i was an eager and willing participant instead of a child and was the catalyst for what amount to a public shaming that I have still not dealt with properly. Some of the stories were so gross and hurtful to my sense of self worth (and SO sensational when you’re in gossipy middle school) that I have never been able to even disclose them, yet live with the knowledge that others have completely out of context knowledge of some of the humiliations I endured, causing me an extreme amount of social anxiety whenever I visit my hometown.

I have tried to deal with the pain, the shame and all the residual effects through some counseling and even by going into sexual assault counseling myself as a career (for a while), yet it’s been very tough to deal with emotional flare ups and triggers. I have never been able to tell my family, as I just can’t bear the pain and suffering it will cause them, but my fear of further trauma/humiliation is now getting in the way of my hopes and dreams. I am a musician, but fear any recognition for my art lest my story become public and I am faced to deal with more humiliation. Nobody in my town knew that all the hurtful and gross sexual rumors they heard about me were a result of abuse and somehow, as is common with girls, I was painted as some dirty, promiscuous girl despite having no prior knowledge of sex and being a child when it happened. I have spent years trying to recreate a “first time” with new partners as mine was taken and have no idea how to claim and own up to some of the most disgusting incidents that went on. I spent so long trying to make excuses that I sometimes doubt if anyone would believe me anyway but I need to find way to fight the hold this has had over me for so long. I’ve made progress, I’ll say. I am now able to utter the words “i was raped/i was abused” which took me YEARS to even be able to say out loud due to the power those words hold. I have confided in a handful of ppl and find that the longer i’ve known someone, the harder it is for me to tell them what i endured (as their response somehow means much more, as one reader noted). I think it may be time for me to join a women’s group so I feel less alone and more supported. I wonder though, if you have any suggestions or resources for dealing with public shaming/humiliation that often goes on after abuse. That has been, by far, the hardest area for me to find any peace of mind and healing.

Thank you for posting your experience. I feel such empathy for you. I too was publicly humiliated in middle school and again in high school – which gave me social phobias that have sabotaged my career as a public presence.

Vicki, That’s horrible to be treated that way! I’m glad things have changed in some ways, but there are still so many things that still need to be changed. Christina

Gabrielle, Thanks for sharing your blog. I’ll check it out. Writing has been so instrumental in my healing. I look forward to reading what you’ve written. Christina

Anon, I’m sorry for all you’ve been through and all the pain it’s caused you. The abuse is bad enough without it continuing through the lies told about us. I’ve experienced that too and I know how painful it is. As for dealing with the public shaming, I’m not sure it’s any different from the way to deal with any other type of shaming. It’s still requires getting to the source of our own belief in the shame– confronting it as a lie and validating ourselves. That’s what my process has been all about. I don’t always get the responses from others that I want/need, but I can always validate myself. It’s taken me a long time to be able to really be there for myself inspite of the betrayal of others, but all the baby steps have been powerful. Hugs, Christina

I know I haven’t read all the way through, but I really need advice on what happened when I told the only person I CAN tell about what happened to me. I told him I was raped by two guys at the same time. I was thinking he’d be angry at them, maybe even disgusted. That wasn’t his response. His reaction was as follows: He wanted to know their first and last names and where they lived when it happened. This isn’t just a blustering person. He has lots of money and he knows how to find people w/ just their names and the name of a city they previously lived in. My first reaction was that I wanted to tell him, but then I DIDN’T want to-but not for the right reason. I just don’t want him to go to jail if he avenges what happened. Also, I’d feel like it was my fault if I gave him all the information and he used it, like I KNOW he will. Since I didn’t expect that reaction from him, I didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, I convinced him not to go find them-but he’s only promised that he won’t find them “for now.” So I’d like to know. What would other people do in this situation? I mean how do I convince him to not do it? I can’t believe I’m even asking, but I don’t want him to get in trouble either.

Vicki, I’m sorry you didn’t get the kind of support you expected or needed. It sounds like his needs are conflicting with your needs. He seems to need to “do” something and you needed someone to empathize and listen without “doing” something.

It’s not your responsibility to convince him. That conflicts with his boundaries. How he thinks and what he thinks are his business. What is within your boundaries is to explain how that would only cause you more pain than you’re already in if he went through with his plans. If he doesn’t listen, then you are empowered in this since you have the names and he doesn’t. It’s your choice not to give him the names and his attempts to get the names from you when you’ve expressed your fear is a violation of your boundaries. If he keeps pressing you, he’s putting his needs above yours.

Thank you. He hasn’t really asked for the names. Not since this morning. I wouldn’t be able to tell him it would hurt me though, unfortunately, I just don’t want him to get in trouble over them. That’s probably the wrong reason to not want him to do anything, I don’t really care if someone WANTS to hurt them-and I guess I SHOULD care, but I don’t-I’m only concerned that he’ll get in trouble for it. I think he was angry about it. He said he was angry. But he hasn’t asked for the names again. We’ve been doing other things, like discussing this book I’m reading that’s about a gorgeous black cat that helps a family through a terrible loss.

There’s one thing I forgot to mention the first time I read this. The first person I told about being molested, someone I thought was a friend for over a year, blabbed my story to the whole 6th grade. After that, I lost any possibility of making any more friends at that school and, for two more years, was forced to endure people making fun of me and disliking me just b/c SHE told them all what I told HER. And her mom did the same w/ the adult portion of the small town I lived in. To this day, I hate living in small towns. If that’s how they’re going to act, I never want to see another small town as long as I live.

Christina Dear, I found this blog 3 days ago, & with every new article I read, I feel more and more reassured that I can get past the sharp physical & emotional pain stemming from a drunken, abusive stepfather and a hypocritical mother who ignored my pleas to keep me safely away from him. After years of sticking my toe in the water by thinking surely others had it worse, these posts have helped me dive in headfirst and know that my pain is warranted and that the people who were supposed to protect me did God-awful things to me instead. I used to beg my stepfather to punch me in the face so I could call the police with proof I was being hurt. No one heard my cries, and those who did obviously didn’t think it was their business to interfere. I was used to having no voice, no power, and I was taught that my instincts were completely backwards. Ur words are like a safe, warm blanket. I feel I will heal & I am so grateful to have found u all! Xo rachel

Hi Rachel, Welcome to Overcoming Sexual Abuse! I’m so glad you found us and that you’re finding hope and encouragement. Have you checked us out on Facebook yet? It’s another excellent source of daily support.

Thank you so much for you comment. Your words are very encouraging to me! Hugs, Christina

Hi I am going through Psychotherapy which is very hard, I have told my husband most things,but I hid everything for a long time,I shut it away and got on with my life the best I could,my sister told 10 yrs ago and also I being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 & 2 , having fits and also total memory loss during stressful times, I still tried to shut it away, it is not that easy now and have found myself looking for others to share my abuse with that have gone through it tooits still not easy to find this the UK seem to find it a disease to avoid talking about,im glad ou have found a way through this Christina xxx

Hi Sara, I’m glad you’re willing to open up about your abuse. I know it’s not always easy to find people who are willing to listen in an understanding way, but you deserve to have the support you never had. I hope you keep trying because there are people who will understand. Christina

P.S. Have you checked out our facebook page? It’s full of supportive people who understand since we’ve all been there.

OMG your story is really what i needed to hear! I was abused by my stepdad and when I told my mother she hated me!! All I ever wanted was for her to love me! Ill share more when i can.I just heard last year that it was thought to be an affair!!!!! GOD knows my heart and how I fought for it all to stop!!! It was not an affair!!!but i think my mom says that so its OK for her to stay with him!! GOD help me but I hate him I feel he took my mom from me with alot of other things Ill pray for you and plz pray for me !!! will this ever be over?

Leigh, That’s so painful to be betrayed by both parents! I’m so sorry you were treated like that. I can relate to being angry with HIM because he took your mom away. That’s the way I felt too. I thought if my dad admitted to abusing me, my mom would suddenly love me. But I was just making excuses for her because I wanted her love so much. The truth is that she was protecting herself from the awful truth and it wouldn’t have mattered if he confessed. I was the enemy, not him, since I was expendable.

I hope you see that her reaction to you (really, both of their treatment of you) has nothing to do with your value. You were rejected by her because of HER, not because you aren’t worthy of her love and support. It doesn’t have anything to do with a deficiency in you; it’s due to a deficiency in her.

This is a painful process, but it gets better. Keep going! I’ll say a prayer for you. Hugs, Christina

Christina I hope you understood what I ment when I said It was what I needed to hear! I’m sorry for what you went thru and was thankful for someone who knew how i felt!Thank you for your kind words!!Thank you for stepping up and giving woman like us a way to exspress our feelings.

This is coming at the right time for me. Thank you, you are a blessing. Your messages are clear, well thought out and needed. I, too, am “waking up” and am in need of gentle guidance and support. Have looked for it and not been too successful over the years. Your page is helping me to “mother” myself so that I can proceed with my healing. Without your voice (and a few others here on the web) I would still be lost.

Leigh, Yes, I completely understand what you meant by it was what you needed to hear. I’m so glad you read it at the right time and that it was helpful. Christina

Deirdre, I’m so glad you’re blessed by what you’ve read here and that’ you’re learning how to mother yourself. It’s so encouraging to hear that what we do is helpful. Thank you so much for letting me know. Christina

Christina I can feel how Your family hinder You from healing process ……. they are doing the same here …… becoz they want me still under the power of being abused an not to be free …….. it hurts me alot

Martha, it is so hurtful that family would do that. I found it so hard to believe MY family would hurt and betray me. I’d concocted such a fantasy about who they were that it was a shock to see the truth.

My family doesn’t hinder me anymore, though they have sure tried. It was easy to get away from them physically but getting away from the dysfunctional thinking and behavior that they taught me has been a process. The more I change my belief system, the less influence they have and they really can’t keep me down anymore.

I’m so sorry you’re hurting right now, but I hope you can make yourself safe from anymore harm from the ones who should love you.

Really enjoy your articles. I was abused by my father from the time I was 3 to 12 years old. I finally told my mom at 19 when I was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer (stress induced). I told her because I still had a little 4 year old sister at home who would be the next prey (my older sister was abused as well). She didn’t deny it (because he admitted up to it in a very vague way), but she denied its effects and was not interested in protecting my little sister. I was so full of rage that a mother wouldn’t want to protect her child…because I realized she wouldn’t have protected me either, had she known. It was about her own convenience (she wanted to stay with him and pretend nothing was wrong). But I believe that results from her own brokenness. We prosecuted as the only way to protect my little sister. The defense attorney said “I don’t see what his (older) children are so concerned about.” and other demeaning and belittling comments that make us out to be the enemies of peace. My father got away with 20 (combined) years of abuse by serving a jail sentence of 18 months and allowed back in the house with my little sister…with my mom being deemed an appropriate “supervisor”! (Barf!) Unfortunately our justice system isn’t interested in protecting little children. It’s been 10 years now trying to heal….I’ve often wondered when I’ll be “done with this.” I go though periods of intensive healing and “work” followed by periods of inactivity and “the rest of life”. Then the cycle begins again. I call them “onion layers”. I think I’ve reached a healing point….later to find that I have deeper to go. It gets frustrating, but a lot of what you wrote in your articles help to place this. Thankful for the work you do in helping to sort out these messes in life and keep people working towards healing and peace. 🙂 Thank you.

One more thing. It might be scary to think that people won’t believe you, and that you will feel rejection AGAIN…. and this is very possible. But the FREEDOM and the PEACE you can find in telling is beyond words. Truth has one condition: that is that it be told. There is a verse in the Bible which says the “truth shall set you free.” It is soooo true. It is not the easiest thing, it doesn’t come overnight. But like the poster above said – she told different details in stages….this was true for me as well. At first I was really general…then became more specific the more times I told it. I think it is hard for us to be comfortable with the truth…even harder to say it. But it is so important and brings so much healing! It can’t be rushed, but will happen in time.

Chloe, Yay for standing up for the truth! Even though your father didn’t get much of a sentence, YOU spoke the truth and that’s so important. I agree that the truth sets us free. After living in lies, secrecy and denial for so many years, the truth is liberating and it’s actually much more comfortable than the lies. Thank you for sharing your story! Christina

i wish i would have found this article years ago. the first time i was abused i panicked. i was attacked by my brother at my grad party. my dad and i had been really close, so after a few days i went to him. looking back now i wish i hadn’t told him first. he missed the first half of my brother’s life and defends him constantly because of it. i stopped going to family gatherings and have been homeless at times because i was so scared to be at my dad’s after that. no matter how many times i asked my dad and his fiance, they would not let me know ahead of time if my brother was coming over. they encouraged him to talk to me to work things out. and the only way i was allowed at my dad’s wedding was if i “got along” with my brother, which included taking pictures with him and his family. i’m finally on the road to recovery, which is how i came upon this site, and reading this article even years after the fact is healing. there were points touched on in this article that really helped me to fit all of my own pieces together, and that has played a huge part in regaining my self esteem. i find myself doubting what occured, saying that he didn’t mean it “like that” and i was overreacting. my dad has told me the same thing several times. its validating to read others’ stories. thank you so much.

Brittany, I can sure relate to doubting what happened. My parent’s reaction (even to later events) seemed far from what I “knew” of my parents. The two things that helped me accept the truth was reading the dynamics of an incest family and putting all their behavior together. I had separated each incident where they rejected me and the truth, which allowed me to excuse it away or to dismiss it. When I saw the long history of that kind of treatment, my eyes were opened.

I have always wished that someone would tell me what to do about my family abuse situation. My mother was abused by her father and I was abused by my father (not her husband, I was adopted at 9). My mom protected me from my dad for years and I received therapy and everything. Then when I was about 16 apparently there was a lot of pressure for me to speak to my dad in person…at a funeral! It was a big surprise to me but I was kind of forced into it. Anyways, to make a long story short….years later I have my own kids and so do my siblings and I am closer to my Dad than ever. I have never been able to talk about the abuse with him even though he has tried. I was so scared when he brought it up that I told him that it never happened. Then later, I told him that I never wanted him alone with my daughter b/c of the abuse and he reminded me that I said it had never happened. No one ever talks about it in my family and my sister even leaves her daughter with him even though I have told her that it did actually happen. I guess I feel that this is unresolved and don’t know how to deal with it without destroying my family. Any ideas?

Anonymous, I understand how you’ve come to think that by telling the truth, you’re destroying your family. My daughter was afraid to tell me about her abuse for the same reason. The truth is that TRUTH doesn’t destroy families or even the abuser. Exposing abuse gives the entire family an opportunity to heal and to learn more healthy and functional ways to relate to each other. For incest to occur in a family, it takes more than just an abuser and a victim. It’s part of an entire dysfunctional system of discounting emotional needs. Unfortunately, when most families are confronted with the truth, they don’t choose to heal, rather they blame the truth-teller victim so they can continue in their dysfunctional ways.

As my daughter wrote in her post “Underprotected”, at least seven adults (other than her abuser-father) knew about what he was doing to her, yet nobody protected her. She was so angry to discover that. She wondered just how many adults it took to protect ONE child. She was right. She didn’t have any power to act, but others did and chose to protect themselves instead. The truth is that there is no well being for anyone when the most vulnerable in their midst are being preyed upon. When the truth is hidden, abuse flourishes. With the truth is revealed and accepted, it can set people free. No matter what you decide to do, there is going to be pain–either pain to the children your father abuses or pain to those who would rather look the other way.

Thank you again! I am weepy with gratitude, emotional pain and relief. I believed I destroyed my family by speaking out about the abuse. It bewildered me that my younger sisters suicide didn’t crack things open. Nor did my older sisters suicide attempts and hospitalizations. Nor did my brother getting arrested for drunken disorderly conduct after visiting a brothel. I came out about the abuse thinking I’d found the root cause of all this chaos. I’m starting to understand the family system better. Can you point me to more resources about this? Thank you.

Christina, Thank you. Repressed Memories is the very first book I started with. Reading it after reading The Courage to Heal really cracked me open. After a few years of working with those books I felt so retraumatized that I got rid of them. I couldn’t feel my feelings. I was too overwhelmed by mothering 3 kids with an emotionally absent husband and critical angry grandparents and siblings pressuring me to not heal – to not challenge them. 25 years later, I have what was missing for me then – self compassion. Plus I’ve done 2 years of Neurofeedback to physiologically get my nervousness system out of fight or flight. So now I can focus better and stay present to myself in stressful conditions. I will read or reread the books you recommend. Right now I’m doing the journaling exercises in the book It Wasn’t Your Fault. And also reading Childhood Disrupted about the link between physical health and abuse. Both are powerful and intense to read. What strikes me is what a long journey it is to recognize my needs, validate them, honor them – and then learn how to meet them.

Thank you so much for responding. I have decided to remove myself from get togethers at my fathers house for the time being and I have talked to other close members of the family….one of which I was surprised to hear was completely uninformed of the past situation. I am going to talk to him (whenever I get the courage) and tell him that I need to admit what he has done, apologize and get help. If he refuses, I will be done with him. That is really sad I know but it feels like the right approach. What do you think? I agree with you that the truth sets us free…..but man…..its going to be an all out attack on me…I am quite sure. It seems out of the blue to everyone else I bet, but it has just taken awhile for it all to come together for me. I am not sure it ever would have if I hadn’t seen your site. Thanks for being here. =)

Anonymous, My separation from my family (the ones who didn’t want to hear or see the truth) was painful but liberating too. It gave me so much more clarity. I hope your decision yields the same. Christina

Thanks for this very useful and empowering information, I’m in the process of really telling my parents everything that my brother’s did to me. i’m so scared to hurt my father, he is so proud of his sons and what they are today. I feel like i would be destroying his life if he knew the truth. I know i need to work through this, it’s hard, it feels like i’m destroying one for another.

This is my first time telling this! I am telling this because I think this is the only way for me to be truly healed and happy. Please dont judged me for I was only a child when it happened, I hated my life and I been constantly hopeless about life, but I want to be healed, I dont want to suffer anymore, Please help me. I have been sexually abused by 4 different men when I was young.

I am very curious kid, I was 4 when my one member of the family accidentally played an Xrated movie to us, being to tally curious what is shown in the tv my friend and I decided to show our private parts with each other and we started to copy what was shown to us not knowing that this was a bad thing, we playfully hugged each other but never went beyond that until one of my older male cousin saw us and we stopped what we were doing, I have learned that what we did is simply Playing the doctor, showing each private parts of your body to an opposite sex but my cousin made me feel guilty of what we did, I was only four so I didnt know what to do, he threatened to tell every member of my family of what we did if I didnt agree of what he wants me to do. He would constantly follow me wherever I go and asked me to have sex with him, I would always refused him and he would always threatened me. We do not have our own house so I lived with my cousins, one day I went to the bathroom alone when I saw my cousin standing on the door and threatened to scream what he saw if I didnt gave in, feeling so scared and helpless I finally agreed to what he wants me to do, he then begin to put her body against me, and started to undress me, then the horror of my life begin when he put his ***** over my private part, I want to scream but I am so scared I feel so helpless and what disgust me is a part of me enjoys what he was doing to me. It happened four times, I would constantly refused him but he would find a way to make it happen either by threatening me or by telling me that what we were doing is okay because other people are doing it as well. I remember saying to him that I dont want to do it because God will get mad with me and I will go to hell if we did it and its bad to do it and he will always tell me not to believe on this thing because its normal to do it but I always felt guilty after he touched me, like I am broken. Another male cousin abused me, I dont how it happened because I cannot recall them but I think it happens when I was 6 years old, I am sorrounded by male teenagers during this time, my cousin were my playmates since I am the only young girl in the family the would always asked me to play with them. One night when I was sleeping I feel something hard pressing at my butt, I dont know what to do I wanted to stand up and scream but my cousin is stronger than me and he told me to that he knows my secret with the other cousin and would tell them to my mom if i didnt stay still, so I didnt move he then began to kissed me all over my body, I feel so dirty when he did it but cannot do anything about it, I cannot recall everything he did to me but he would forced me to hold his ***** and if I wont do it, he will get mad at me and would put his **** over my private part. He touched two times, and he would always tell me not to fight with it but to enjoy it instead because what he was doing to me is a good thing and I felt guilty when theres a part of me who feels good about what he was doing.

A few months later I am still 6 years old, my family decided to left our cousins house and stayed at a family friends house, I remember being so happy when we finally leave my cousins house knowing that I could escape the horror of what happened at that house, and for a quite some time feel totally free, then again something bad happened to me at that house. I dont know how it happened I just remember one night the teenager son of the the family friend lied beside me at midnight then began to rub his pennis againts mine, he was drunk when he was doing it , I feel so scared because he was way older than me he was 19 and we were sleeping beside his sisters, I cant remember how it happened but I just followed everything that he wants me to do and again I feel so horrible because I just gave in on what he want me to do. It only happens once, he could look me at the eye the next morning and told me that he just did what he did because he was drunk and told me to keep this secret.

When I was seven my family can already afford to buy a house, I was so relieved to have our own house because a part of me felt safe knowing that I will not have to live with boys that can abused me but I was wrong. A close family friend about 45 years old stayed with us for a couple of weeks, he was adored by my parents for being one of the nicest and kindest family friend that they have, but a part of me is scared to him, maybe because he is a new face to me and because I dont know if I can trust him. He stayed at our house for a couple of weeks and he acted very nice towards me and my sister, he always tell us that he saw his children on us, but I never felt safe around him because there were times when I can see him watching me and my sister like an evil but I just ignored what I see because my parents admired him. I always sleep with my parents and my siblings since we do not have a room we only have a bed, and the house guest slept on the floor, one night the guy suggested that we sleep beside him and because my parents were too trusting with him and considered him as a family they agreed to his offer, my parents asked me then to sleep beside him and I can vividly remember that I said No, I dont want to because a part of me doesnt trust the man and I know that he will do something bad, I told my parents that I dont want to but they get mad at me instead and force me to sleep beside the man because its they were ashamed of how I said No, I still said No so my parents asked my younger sister if she wants to sleep with him, my sister is about 4, I felt protective over my sister so I finally agreed to sleep beside him. True to my gut he is a bad man, he began to put his ***** on my back, I was so afraid of him because he is very old and very strong, I remember not turning around though I know that he was doing something bad and then I finally felt broken when he asked me to turned around and told me that he would do something bad to my parents if I didnt, I cannot do anyting about it when he penetrated, He is a big guy, so what he was doing is very painful to me. My parents are sleeping very well when I am going thru hell with their family friend. He even put his mouth on my private part which is so nasty. The next morning, he pretented to be so a good man again, but I am dying inside on what he did to me, he will always asked me to go with him and play somewhere and I’ll do everything in my power to avoid him, he even asked me if enjoyed what he did. I felt so dirty for what he did to me, but a part if me felt Im glad that it happened to me and not my younger sister because I cannot forgive myself if something happens to her. He eventually went home and never saw him after that.

A part of me is mad with my parents for not taking care of me so well, dont get me wrong my family is very loving but there are also very busy making a living and very trusting to other people not knowing the hell that I went thru during those time that they are away. I love my family so much but I think what I went thru started me to put walls on my relationship on other people specially with my family.

I am 23 years old now, never had any boyfriend and sexual intercourse eversince those incidents. I grew just fine, and family and friends always tell me how proud they are to for being such a nice person but they dont know the horror that I am going thru.

I have tried to forget what happened on me on the past, but lately I keep getting flashback so I decided to confront my past and God Knows how desperate I am to be free of my past and to start living finally because I believe that I am deserving of it because I am good person, I just want to be okay. I know I will be okay, god will take care of me, I just need to forgive myself and let go of my past and be okay,

Agatha, Welcome to OSA! Thank you for sharing that. None of that was your fault. I understand being angry with your parents for not protecting you. It was their job to keep you safe but they didn’t do that. Acknowledging my anger toward my parents was a vital part of my healing process. It said to me, “I deserved to be protected. I am worthy of protection.”

Healing is a long process, but it gets better with every step. How do you feel after sharing that? It’s normal to feel a variety of emotions from relief to victorious to depressed to exhausted. I’m careful to be gentle with myself every time I take another step in my healing. It’s part of undoing the damage that was done through the abuse. Abuse sends the message, “You aren’t valuable” but good self-care says, “You are precious and valuable”.

I hope you continue to participate in our community. You deserve to heal.

Hi! First of all, I want to thank you for reading my story, it meant a lot to finally share this to someone who can understand without judgement. Thank you so much.

I dont know how to explain this but something happened to me after sharing my story, I was kind of relief after that, it felt that a heavy burden was lifted on me but I know I still have a long way to go and I just want to be okay.

I dont know how to start, I left our home a week and I am travelling alone right now, trying to get answers and trying to let go of my past, but never thought that confronting your past would be this painful. I just realized that the abuse has taken a lot from me, I have self esteem issues, Ive been depressed, been disassociated with people, also experienced panic attacks but I think the one that one that really affected is my inability to trust people. I just want to take control of my life and live again . I dont want my past to define my future but I dont know what to do next after sharing the story. How can I learned to trust again. Please help me..

I am very thankful of this site and people like you who are always ready to listen and help, it really meant a lot for people like me who are going thru a lot.

You are making a great start. Have you read our page, “Where Do I Start?” It’s full of information and encouragement from other survivors. The other thing that’s helped me so much is keeping a healing journal. From the beginning of my recovery, I’ve recorded my memories, nightmares, flashbacks and emotions. It’s been so helpful to me as I put the pieces of myself and my past back together. This site is full of stories and blogs from other survivors at all different stages of the journey, so I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to lots of it. I’m so glad you found us!

Nicole, You deserve to be very proud of yourself for standing up for yourself. One of the messages of abuse is that other people’s needs and wants are more important than ours and it’s so common for survivors to put others above us. I understand wanting to protect your parents from knowing something that would hurt them, but it’s a parent’s job to protect their children, not the other way around.

I hope that no matter their response, you know you’re worthy of protection and support.

Any advice out there for someone trying to heal? I was raped by my best friend three years ago and never really healed from that. The worst part is that almost a year later, I was on vacation with my family and my drink was drugged and…yeah…the same thing just different scenario. It brought everything up from the first time..Now I am just trying to move on. I feel like it has ruined my life..

My daughter was molested by her best friends father at age 10 during a sleepover. We have been friends with this family for over 10 years. She did not disclose it until 4 years later. She buried the pain because she so loved her best friend that she did not want to be the one who took her Dad away from her. We followed the proper channels to report this. Because there were no witnesses/forensic evidence, my daughter was not considered a victim but a witness when we went to Children’s Court. His two daughters were each assigned an attorney by the Court. He hired his own criminal attorney. We were told we would not need an attorney. His daughters swore that he never touched them. His attorney had my daughter dismissed as a witness, so she never got to tell the DA her side of the story. One of the investigators told my daughter to “make sure she tells someone right away if this happens again.” The police believed her, the detective believed her, her therapist and doctors believe her, we/our family believes her, even the attorneys representing his daughters believed her, and they tried to console us after the DA dismissed it. That was 4 months ago. My daughter has suffered in silence for 4 years, and now faces an entirely new set of challenges to begin healing. The fact that nothing can be done to this man has only added to her pain. I want to tell my friends and their friends about this, I want them to know his name. I want them to hear her side of the story, I want them to ask their children if he ever did this to them. My daughter does not have a problem in telling who he is, and at this point it may even help her with her recovery. There is no motive in this accusation by my daughter, she had everything to lose. That is why she kept it secret. And now her life is so scarred. There could be someone else just like her that is afraid to tell. This family is very active with the schools and their friends. I want them to know what he did. Its their choice to believe us or not. We are prepared for that. But he and his family have moved on with their lives and I fear our daughter will never get out of the trenches, not to mention any other victims. I need to do something. Its just not right.

Thank you for this wonderful article. I wish I had read it on Monday. I just started my journey of healing about a month or so ago , when I realized this issue has been hurting those I love most in this world, my husband and my children. To my surprise, it was a huge “relief” to start talking about it and to allow myself to feel the pain that I had repressed all of these many years. I had no intention of telling my parents of the abuse , though I strongly suspected they already knew about it. Well, I am not sure why but I sort of blurted it out in the same way as in this article, very matter of fact. It was the worst mistake I have made. My mother is upset with me for telling her at all, stating that she is 67 years old and I shouldn’t have done this to “her.” Those feelings of shame and rejection came crashing back like a ton of bricks. . ..and here comes the anxiety, the heart palpitations. Last night I woke up every 5 minutes as my body twitched. This morning I woke up once again with my jaw clenched and a migraine, which I have not experienced since before I started the healing. I’m afraid all of the progress I made is now lost. I wish I had not told my mother. I hope I can get back to where I was.. . . I was doing so well.

for a lot of years I had not remembered my childhood. it only through counselling at my age now 41, that I have discovered why I was so angry as a teenager and was put into care. I was sexually abused by a family member. for the past few years I was in a domestic violent relationship. I have a 2 year son. unfortunately he is in foster care due to this. my past relationship with my now ex. my ex was controlling and violent. when I left my ex I became extremely angry with social worker. this had prevented them returning my son. final hearing for son is in two months time. I feel like a weight has been lifted by talking to my counseller. local authority insist I disclose why I was a angry teenager. I am just coming to terms with. being abused. I fear telling my family as I fear they will dis own me. like you Christina it’s important I tell who I can trust. do you feel I can heal by talking it through with counseller. I am scared of people’s response. you are very brave and I am glad you are hearing.

I started talking more and more as the years went on. I was in the family you described above about incest. I have been hated very much for it. I have been called names and rejected by my dad and his extended family. My brother is treated like royalty. My brother called me a c***. This happened in a loud forum where family convened in the house the day after my mom died. I still hate my dad for allowing that to happen and for treating me with the utmost contempt. I tried to re-establish a relationship with him, but I am still treated as a stranger..as are my children. I am walking away. My life is so much happier on its own and way from the sick filth I called family once.

That’s what the victim advocate said – 20 years later. They didn’t have victim advocates in 1985 when this happened. The victim advocate said that I know they did it and so do they, but I’m not sure if they do b/c they were high on cocaine when they did it. I have no idea if they remember doing it. But I kept my mouth closed about it, since I decided she was trying to help. The prosecutor was helpful too, but even he didn’t say what the victim advocate did. I liked him anyway b/c he was trying to prove I WASN’T a liar. I have a personal friend who’s a defense attorney, but he’s nothing like the attorney in that case. He even knew the name of their attorney b/c he used to work where I live. He told me the guy was not a nice human being, which is “exactly why he chose to use the defense that he did.” He told the court I was “out looking for a good time, and that casts a shadow of a doubt as to whether it really was rape or that I wanted it.” Then he put two witnesses on the stand that said we “were out looking for a good time.” The way he asked the question there was nothing else those two COULD’VE said. We WERE looking for a good time – but not with sex. This guy was a damn master at the craft of making me look like a no-good whore who’s from the bottom of the barrel in society just b/c I lived in an orphanage when this happened. I’m glad the prosecutor explained all the jobs of the people who would be in the courtroom beFORE I met them. If I hadn’t known, it would have come as the nastiest surprise of my life.

I disclosed the abuse by my brother 3 years ago and he admitted it. But since then, he has been to a lawyer to silence me and my parents have too. They have done everything they can to make me look like a slut, they say it was consensual and I am the one making out it was sexual abuse because I wanted to cover up an affair I had apparently had (I hadn’t had an affair). I am slowly getting better but feeling the hatred by my mother and the silence of my father knock me back each time. It will be I who will win back her life in the end but it is hard and it takes a lot of strength to believe you are not the person you always thought you were – filthy, scum, not worth loving. Only a few days ago I received this mail from my uncle who was sentenced to go to prison for sexually abusing his 5 year old granddaughter and also 2 women when they were girls. He is still in close contact with my parents who say he is innocent although he too admitted to abusing his granddaughter: The mail reads as follows:

IN MY OPINION YOU ARE BOTH PSYCHOTIC AND EVIL, YOU WERE THE PERVERTED ONE WHO HAD A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BROTHER, YOU CAN NOT BLAME ANYONE BUT YOURSELVES. DO NOT EVER CONTACT ME AGAIN. IF YOU DO I WILL GO TO THE AUTHORITIES AND TELL THEM ALL ABOUT YOU AND GET YOU INVESTIGATED.

No matter what anyone says to you, know in your heart that you are couragous and strong. You know the abuse happened and dont need to defend yourself. You were the victim. They are now claiming to be victims because they are not strong enough to say they failed in protecting you. But you, my friend, you are brave. You are a survivor. I am there with you. I was so hurt by my family’s reaction. I had expected them to say they were sorry. They didnt. They rejected me. So I went back to school for my masters degree. I graduated last week. I will make it my life”s work to support strong women like you. You should be very proud of yourself. And always remember you are mot alone. Every time you tell your story you are telling all of our stories. You are fighting for all of us. Write me anytime. Lisa

Thank you Lisa. I don’t need to tell how good it feels to have support. After I wrote my comment I wished I hadn’t and was ashamed of myself. It has taken me until today to come back and answer you. Congratulations on your degree. It is women like you we need, to support the survivors. I am preparing myself to start lecturing at schools and universities (although by then the harm has been done). I want to help girls and boys REALIZE they are being abused and then come forward for help. I want to give something I never had – a feeling of security. I will never get my life back and I still mourn for the life I didn’t have. I still hate the life I had – all the after-affects of the abuse that led me to places no young girl should see and experience things they shouldn’t. Now and then the blanket of numbness lifts and I am physically shocked at what I went through. If I can prevent others from experiencing that, I will at least have some peace. I wish you all the very best, please write to me sometime. Janice

Christina, First off let me thank you , because your story is truly encouraging and strengthening. I’m actually just letting go of my inner little girl who has be locked away in my mind for so long. The hurt and pain of thinking it’s OVER until the day you awake , and you can’t even think straight because abazillion thoughts are running through your mind. The smell of certain things are taking you back, every thing hurts, everything is irritating, the sound of your loved ones sound muffled by your abusers voice , but you know your abuser has long gone since left your life physically , but I finally realized because I’ve NEVER really dealt with it, my abuser has ALWAYS been with me mentally and emotionally !!! So I decided to write a book. Hoping to inspire survivors of sexual, mental emotional and physical abuse. Hoping to bring awareness to BREAKING THE CYCLE of ABUSE!!

For about 2-3 years, I was sexually abused by my older brother. I didn’t know what exactly was going on. I was about 9 years old when the abuse started. I’m 18 now. I’ve never told anyone about it before. I’ve just been terrified of what they’ll think of me. Because of the traumatic experience, I suffered from depression and self harm since the abuse began and it continues. Holding in these emotions and memories for so long has built up so much it now seems impossible to control. I desperately want to tell someone about it. I just don’t know who to tell or how to tell them. I’ve been having panic attacks more frequently and I’m just scared. I generally told my mom about my last panic attack that occurred in the middle of the night after a flashback of one of the events from my childhood of those terrible nights. It’s been happening more often. My mom just brushed it off. I didn’t tell her why it happened. I’m just tired of being silent about it. It’s greatly effected my life in friendships and other relationships. I don’t feel like I can trust people. Some people have gotten angry with me because i wasnt able to explain why i was acting a certain way. Its just frustrating because they have no idea what ive been through. And i know im not alone. But i just don’t want to go on like this anymore. It’s physically and emotionally draining and I don’t like the path I’m on right now. My brother who is responsible for it never tallked to me about it. He never got along with my father. There would be arguments resulting in sometimes violent fights. I’m scared he might hurt me or someone I love. I’m scared my friends will get angry with me for never telling them. It’s not that I don’t trust them- I just don’t want to be a burden. So instead of telling anyone in fear of only making the situation worse, I keep quiet. But I just want to heal. That’s all I want. I want to be able to say I was strong enough to overcome this. I want to be happy again.

Dear anonymous November 9. You are not alone. My daughter has struggled (and still is) with everything that you say – it’s an incredible journey and nobody seems to understand unless they are in the same place. Anyway, she’s pretty cool, and I’m a good listener. It helps with trying to heal, at the very least , somebody you feel safe talking to. You can personally email me if you want. I’ll pass it in to her.elizjacques@gmail.com ??

I just read Anonymous last night. After I disclosed and kept trying to disclose to my parents, life just got worse with them. I suppose such news is hard when the person you are claiming violated you is a sibling. A stranger would be easier to take than a family member or family friend. The layers of disillusionment and trust broken and disbelief. When you say it is your brother or grandfather or whoever, the denial blanket seems to get heavier instead of lighter and you feel more alone. I don’t think anyone gets it unless they are not directly involved with you. Those THOSE are the safest to talk to first. Get to know yourself, your pain, your issues with it before you break open to those who really did not protect you or didn’t or wouldn’t believe you if you told them. This way when you are ready to unload the guilt of what is NOT your fault and they choose to live in denial..you still feel grounded and confident in your truth. You won’t go back to your corner and continue to huddle. Choose safely who to talk with such deep hurt. But you will begin to lighten your load some.

Anonymous, it was my brother who I always say borderline molested me. The therapist said no you were put in a sexual position and made to do this for years. It was molestation. I remember locked doors, games ending, it was time, he’d start at foot of bed and climb up….tell me he was coming to make love to me. The only touching I truly remember is him climbing over me and on top of me alot and kissing me on face and neck. I was so little. I took pride in owning that my ballerina legs were strong and could push him off. He’d invite me to play cards, Monopoly, Battleship, Uno, whatever. I sit here now and tear up a bit. It is still so hard to talk about. I hate him I think because he broke the trust I had in him as a little girl. I was lonely and vulnerable. He knew better no matter his reasons. I was small and helpless and he wasn’t. To this day, I am hated for telling. I was called a liar. I was called a $unt by my own brother for telling. I got told he’d sue me…seriously got a letter from a lawyer who I promptly called and chewed out. I hate my family for so much. I am supposed to forgive. I can forgive me. I can distance myself from the pain and my brother. I can live quietly. However, I can never pretend it didn’t happen.

I want to thank those of you responding to my comment. I really appreciate the encouragement and the feeling of knowing that I’m not alone. My brother, who I haven’t seen in almost 2 years will most likely be coming up for Christmas. I don’t think I can stand to be in the same room as him with my family, let alone pretend everything is fine and have a conversation with him. Please keep me in your prayers. I’m hoping I’ll have the courage then to speak up about it and explain why I am the way that I am.

I think I completely understand. I too have distanced myself from my brother as much as possible. In fact, it is now where I really have as little contact with my family as possible. This is good for me in terms of not fighting or reliving moments or pretending or feeling angry and anxious. It’s bad in the sense I mourn what family I used to think I had as a child. I don’t think you should put yourself in any position you are not comfortable to be with. Christmas is fraught enough with family tensions and skeletons and fights. If you have a family of friends you could spend your holidays with..go for it! Your recovery depends on you taking care of your emotions and only disclosing as you are ready to too. I really was not wanting disclosure or family clan gathering discussing whether I had been abused or not as a child the day after my mother died by my father, brother, and my dad’s sisters in front of several family members in the home I grew up in. I have not attended family reunions. I told my dad that I did not want him to come down for Christmas. I told him I could not pretend everything is okay. I can’t. And I know he’d insist on my brother being here in my home. I have heard it many times for last several years of my adult life when I didn’t want him around. I didn’t get the protection, love, or support I needed. Instead, I got we will won’t come to your wedding or house for Christmas if he isn’t allowed to come. Well, my mother is dead now. I’m older and an adult with my own children. I control who comes in and out of my life and home. I can choose to be happy. So can you.

Hi I am new to all this has helped me see I am not alone and hugs to all of you who have been through so very much. I was sexually molested by my step grandfather and brother. When I revealed to my family about my step grandfather my Mother was not shocked as he was creepy with her he never did anything to her but he did make disgusting suggestions etc. So when I found out that she knew he was that way but she never thought to keep him away from me and my sisters I have to admit I was truly upset with my Mom how could she have let him even near us??? But I let it go especially after I found out he also hurt so many other girls in our family but my Aunt went on to keep a relationship with him and turn the other way I was told to let it go she needed to do it as she needed to do it he was all that was left of her parents and she needed his money when he passed how disgusting right? Meanwhile I hid my brothers molesting of me my whole life his was worse then my grandfather because he fully raped me everytime from the time I was 4 till I was 8. Worse part is my older sister caught him forcing me to perform oral sex on him and threatened to tell our parents but she never did what she did do was use it as blackmail against me anytime she wanted me to do her work for her or do things with her she made me feel like the dirty and wrong one not him. Until I was 14 she used that against me when I finally told her go ahead tell them she never did because he threatened her as I found out later. Then finally one day when I was in my 30s, married with kids of my own at a family birthday party he did something and upset the family and was mean to one of my kids and I finally snapped when my Mom stuck up for him and I let it all out I don’t know why then it just came out. My husband never knew nobody did. It caused a lot of shock, and heartache because of course some of the family didn’t believe me and that hurt. And I think they probably still don’t but what can I do about that. Now years later he has not contact with the family in general as far as holidays etc, but I think my Mom resents me for it sometimes and my family pretends nothing has ever happened to me and it hurts as I am still not even close to healed I have tried I really have I was hoping once I released it I would get over it especially since my first molester died but I guess because I rely on family maybe to talk to that is my first mistake including my husband they always act like well what is the point of bringing it up now. You know I know my life would be completely different if I could have grown up as a normal little girl, my sex life would have been different, I wouldn’t have been terrified of every man who looked at me, every male doctor I had to be alone with, I wouldn’t have married my second boyfriend because he made me feel comfortable and safe because I was too afraid to have to meet other men, and I still am uncomfortable around men. I see these women who are so comfortable with men and I am so jealous and I Hate my molesters for taking away my childhood and I get angry at my family for acting like it was nothing and that we should all just move on because I told them now it is overwith so who cares. I hope one day I can let it go and feel better about it I really do. Thank you so very much for listening it means the world to me.

I am presently spending some time scouring the web looking for groups and reading about sibling abuse and it’s after effects. I was sexually abused by my brother between the ages of 9-12 – He was four years older than myself. I’m finding it particularly tough that the older I get, the more I seem to be thinking about this and how it has affected me. At the time I told a slightly older friend…. She had told me what ‘sex’ was and I suddenly correlated what was happening to me. She didn’t believe me… so I stayed quiet best I could. I have told my parents – several times now. I can’t say it was a wise thing to do. The first was when I was 17 – triggered by first sexual relationship with a boyfriend really – They told me to never mention it again because if my brother knew they knew he would never come home. I tried again at 20 – it was ignored. Again at 31 – My Dad outright told me I was ‘making it up’, my mother seemed indifferent. I confronted my brother on the phone around this time too – I told him all I wanted was an apology, and for him to tell my parents I had told the truth…. It escalated into a massive family drama. I haven’t seen my brother since. My parents insist I am making it up and that ‘he would never do that’… along with ‘why didn’t you say something at the time…’ along with complete denial that I had ever mentioned it before…. Since indirectly making the decision to avoid my brother (he hasn’t made any effort to see me himself…) I’ve had countless guilt trip conversations, usually when my mother has had a drink and gets emotional, begging me to ‘make up with him’, or from my Dad who reminds me how ‘awful’ it is that I’ve caused this rift in my family…. I’m looking back and amazed I haven’t exploded with the pain this has caused me inside. I am now 40… I have children… This seems to amplify the depth of thought on this. My family is torn- broken completely. My parents sincerely hate me, blame me, are eternally ‘angry’ at me, and I can’t see any way to fix things. It is a desperately heartbreaking situation. It’s with me every day…. if I dare to stop being busy it’s there…. and right now I am struggling to keep ‘busy’ enough for it not to haunt my head.

First, let me say, you are a very courageous woman. Sadly, your family does not share your courage. It is easier for them to make you the scapegoat than to face the truth. Often times, parents have such tremendous guilt for not protecting their children that they put the blame on the child. And Daisie, that is just it. . .you were a child. You didn’t even know what sex was, you trusted your brother. You were the victim here, not your parents. They did not protect you, and in fact, they are continuing to hurt you, and emotionally abuse you by putting the blame on you. This makes me so angry! Daisie, I went through so many years being angry, depressed, and just generally felt, “off,” and not knowing why. I knew that I was sexually abused as a child, but I never made the connection between what had happened to me in the past with what I was feeling and how I was behaving in the present. For me to make that connection, I actually hit rock bottom. I almost hurt myself. . . I didn’t know where to turn and felt somewhat humiliated by my past (again, angry at myself for my past when I was the victim!) It was very difficult to get out of that “something must be wrong with me,” mentality. At some point, my anger against myself was directed at the anger against the person who hurt me. I encourage you to read a book called, “The Courage to Heal” by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. It was a lifesaver for me. That book started me on the road to recovery. . .reading this site was another lifesaver (I wasn’t a lonely freak anymore), therapy was yet another step.

I came to these post a couple of years ago because I had felt so good and so healthy that I too tried to talk to my parents about what had happened to me. I had expected they would comfort me with love, but like your parents, told me to keep this quiet, and maybe I had been mistaken, and (this was the best of all) , “how could you do this to us?” I was so dumbfounded,, so lost, and my recovery took three steps back. I wished I had not told them because that little girl who was hurt and not protected is still inside of me. And although I can not go back in history and protect her, I can protect her now. So that being said, above everything else, protect that sweet little girl inside of you. If your parents make you feel yucky in any way, then maybe it is good to not have a relationship with them for awhile.

And while you are going through recovery, it is so important to protect yourself and only disclose with those who will provide you with compassion and empathy. You have taken the first step in healing and you are courageous 🙂

I have always known and not known…I was bad and dirty and different. At puberty I became promiscuous as I had no safe boundaries regarding my own body and felt that my only worth was sexual. I told professionals first – and only in stages – then trusted friends who reacted in different ways. I spoke up when my daughter was tiny and my mother was encouraging her to give my father “big kisses” just like she had told me. She had also told me that I had to do it even if I did not like it or he would be hurt – I stopped my daughter and my parents took silent umbrage. I joined a support group and the memories I had minimised would no longer be denied. My father died not long ago and talked about having been raped as his life slipped away – I forgave him in my heart. My younger brother who was long a victim of verbal and emotional abuse from our father is now trying to secure our mothers assets for himself. He used the “false allegations” card to try to discredit me within the family although our mother is 88 and has memory loss. Instead of backing down I told her the truth…about the tickling games that took place in bed with my father…about his anger toward me when I innocently asked him about the “piece of wood” he had in his underwear…the pornography picked up from the street – dirty and rain damaged – and left for me to find…how she had explained that dad had mistaken it for a comic book of mine as he rushed home in the rain and had put it by my toys to dry out for me. She simply said that he liked it and “so what” as he is gone now so it does not matter. I have been accused by my brother of being evil and crazy but I will no longer deny the truth.

Still looking for a safe person. I found one, a therpist years ago but he has since retired and moved.

Intimate others have all just gone silent and ditched me. I used to work in criminal case mgt and I distinctly recall my colleagues going on about how people who are abused as children are, “Eff’d for life” it wasn’t very comforting when my professor of psychology, an esteemed counselor at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health said the same thing one day in class.

Speaking of the legal system, I of course have witnessed other victims go through the process and be totally revictimized again. Heck, when I was assaulted years ago the first cop on scene thought it was a good time to flirt with me. Two weeks later, the cop I was dating just refused to listen or be supportive, and ditched me.

Family. Well, forget that. They all have problems that are far more significant than anything I’d been through.

I do have one friend who is amazing. But she’s also living and working in another country now. And it’s tiresome going through trial and error in chosing people to disclose to. And I can’t help but think I shouldn’t need to pay someone to listen to me. meh.

I am a 27 year old married man who has just recently figured out that i have been repressing the memory of my cousin violating my innocence when i was 6 or 7. A lot of things are now making sense in my life that i have always wondered why about. It explains why i treat my mother with so much anger and resentment. It explains why i have SO much anger inside of me and i have the quickest fuse my wife has ever seen over stupid little things. My Dad left when i was 1 i think i don’t remember him at all until i met him when i was 16. So growing up with all this anger ive always thought it was my dads fault for why I’m so angry and i must take it out on him to feel better. So i did on xmas eve of 08 and i let him have everything i thought would make me feel better. TERRIBLE THINGS. It did not work. I still felt this anger inside and i just couldn’t for the life of me figure out. So growing up i had pooping issues and i was told and I’m guessing came to believe that i had a megacolon and had problems with pooping. It was not Megacolon because the problem is still there today and i have taken medicine since i was 13 years old. The reason i told you guys this is just for one more confirmation of me surely being penetrated. my mom said my problems didn’t start until i was 7 or 8 and that i potty trained and was never afraid or scared of the potty. what do you guys think? any connection? is it too late to get checked? is there a time frame for how long scarring goes? Because my memories right now are a single flash. brief moment with my brother in the closet… now with Brandon the cousin. His memory is more intense and frightens me more and i get sweaty and heart pounding talking about it but i remember him holding me down and saying stop and that it hurt and him spitting on his private to get it in fully… Do you think my mind would make something like this up 20 years later? I’m so confused bc i was never checked for sexual abuse when i was a kid my mom says. My mom said that when she was 11 and her sister was 10 that Brandons Gpa use to molest her and my aunt. So when she told me that i had even more resentment towards her because i felt that it was more her fault bc she knew that that side of the family was messed up. My mom also told me and my wife of a time her and her boyfriend caught: Brandon Joel and Jeremy with me in a roomo under blankets touching me. How can a mother ignore those signs of endangerment? Please i need some help

Im so excited about all I have read here they are really comforting and helpful. I was abused severally at age 6- 10 by my cousins and a home tutor. I only realised when I was 17, I felt the pressure to tell my mom but was not sure of how she will react so I kept it from her and it has lead to my living a secret life and not involving her in my life. Now I want to get married and she doesnt like my partner because she feels he is using me because our relationshjip has been a secret for 4 years which was pretty much my idea; now i’m ready to tell her about my abuse,relationship and all that I kept secret from her,but I dont know how to break the silence.

Just yesterday, my voice instructor, who I work with closely, was asking about my health status, as I have been having intestinal issues for a month or so. I explained to her the number of doctor visits and tests done with no result other than being told I was perfectly healthy. She suggested the possibility of food allergies and keeping a journal. I shared that after a month of internal complications, I came to the conclusion that it was stress. (I am diagnosed with anxiety and taking medication for it, so stress is obviously common and consistently at a high level for me). I told her that I just feel this disconnect between my mind and body that I can’t seem to mend. She looked at me with a concerned look and asked me the question, “When you look in the mirror do you recognize yourself?” My answer was no without any thought, because for as long as I can remember, I would look in the mirror and think that who I saw was not who I felt I was–I just assumed that this was due to self esteem issues and that it was normal, though I had never voiced this opinion to anyone until now. She told me that when she was around my age, she was in therapy and she had told the exact same thing to her therapist. Her therapist told her that meant she was living out of her body… that something caused her to leave her body. She stared at me and said that she had a very strong suspicion about me. I didn’t even need her to say another word. I asked, “as in…. (referring to sexual assault).” She said, “By the reaction I can see happening behind your eyes just because of the idea of it, I can tell there are feelings there.” I didn’t even notice that I was tearing up until she had pointed it out. She continued to help me put pieces together, having listened to countless stories and knowing deep details about my life. Pieces that made this possibility seem more like a reality.

Since my lesson with her, I have done quite a bit of self reflection. I have spoken to two of my friends. One of which ended up sharing a story of her assault that I was never aware of. She said that we think very similarly and is wondering if it’s because we may have both experienced similar traumas.

I’m experiencing so many emotions. But the most frequent is the feeling that everything makes sense now. So many quirks about myself that I just thought were a part of me. Things that I never once voiced to a single human, things only I know about myself. It all makes sense now. I always wondered if something happened to me, but I assumed that was due to binging on CSI with my mom.

Now I’m at a point of thinking that I know who it may have generally been… I attended a daycare when I was a child, along with my two older brothers. I distinctly remember having a reoccurring dream in which I was on the daycare playground being chased by two witches and constantly trying to hide. Part of me wonders if my abuser(s) were the two women co-owners of the daycare (I can’t remember their names or faces). There is also one song from the ’90s that pulls me back into a flashback of being at the daycare in the nursery (the only memory I have from that daycare other than my youngest brother’s day of birth). I wish I could remember the song, because it has always caused an uncomfortable reaction within me. I tried telling my mom when I was in high school about this song just because it came on the radio, but she brushed it off, and at the time I didn’t blame her.

But there’s another part of me worried I’m obsessing. My friend who opened up about her abuse told me that I needed to stop obsessing because I was searching for answers online. Am I? Is it natural that I’m looking for answers? Obviously there’s a possibility I was never abused, but is the reality of it greater? I don’t know where to go from here…

Christina, I totally relate to your story but my healing process isn’t complete. I too was molested by my father, as were my siblings ,and used in child porn. My sister was the first to realize this with vivid flashbacks. She tried to commit suicide. I had a feeling that I too was a victim but didn’t want to believe it. I supported her but the family was divided. We didn’t go to our parents and still haven’t and that was over ten years ago. I am just now coming to terms with it. My recent separation from my husband of 21 years, continued health problems and nightmares of my father and other atrocities have crashed down on me. I have limited my destruction to cutting. I was also sexually assaulted at 12 and used sexually by a 41 yr old at 14 for almost a year. I was again sexually assaulted at 22 by 3 men while in the navy as well as raped by a fourth at a different time. I was married to a man that physically abused me for 5 years. Then remarried a man that cheated on me with 4 women and then abused me sexually in a very violent way. So I am suffering but reaching out for help from every source that is available. I crave to cut myself like people crave food. I know I need help, I do talk to people when I can but some things face to face are hard to tell to someone you know. I still have nightmares about hiding in a box or under the bed and my husband finds me only to hand me over to my dad. I am an adult but am powerless to stop him. I have several phobias that I now realize where they came from, but they are hard to overcome. Thanks for your time.

Since that post I have tried to commit suicide with a 357 magnum. I was committed to a mental health center for 8 days. I still struggle and cut now too. I have flashbacks and vivid dreams still. I’m not sure when recovery will happen for me.

I am a mother of two. We live in a small two bedroom house where my children are going to have to share a room. This has been giving me anxiety because when I was a child my brother and I would “experiment” sexually. Ive been all over the internet trying to justify my feelings of guilt and unwholesomeness. Most of the things I see say. If the children are close in age its “natural” and not a problem. But I feel like its a problem. My memories are foggy but I have one very clear memory of being caught by our parents when I was 6-7 and my brother was 9-10. They found us in the same bed fooling around after bed time one night. sent my to my room and told us it was bad. I dont think it was ever really talked about again. Now 20 years later I feel dirty, guilty and ashamed.

I really dont want my children to end up in a similar situation. but we cant afford a bigger house. when I brought my feelings of unease about room sharing up to my husband. He reacted poorly saying “children share rooms all the time.” He had no idea how much this flippant response would hurt me. Now I feel compelled to explain, but also guilty dirty and gross for having been a part of incestuous activities.

I have very few early memories and have recently been wondering if there are other instances or abuse or abusers. Both my parents are dead now and the only person I can look to for support is my husband, who has since realized my seemingly casual comment about room sharing, and my extreme over reaction to his response, realizes there is something larger at work.

I feel extreme guilt. Maybe what happened wasnt a big deal and lots of brother and sisters fool around… but if that was true why do I feel so gross and wrong. why havent I ever told anyone ever? If we were just children doing things that are “natural” why do I feel wrong. I dont want my daughter to end up in the same situations. I do agree that children need to explore and experiment with their bodies, but they shouldnt be doing it with siblings. I have always felt i deserve these guilty feelings because i was a participant and it felt good… but I dont desrve to feel guilty.

I had difficulty as a child after the incident at the start of this post. I constantly wanted to be sexualy gratified. I would rub up on anything anytime. It was so embarrassing, But the urges were so strong.

My husband and Brother are friends, however we live a good distance away from my brother now. I worry how my husband will react when I finally can manage to use words to explain what happened.

Ive lived with guilt and shame for 20 years because I thought we were the only siblings to go though this type of thing. ive never talked to my brother about it. I want to talk to someone.

After making this post I found RAINN and was able to chat online with someone. I found it very helpful to express myself to a stranger before anyone else. They were very compassionate and helped my come up with a more comfortable way to raise the subject with my spouse. I choose to write my feelings down so that the bulk of the information I need to say can be understood with out sobbing. We will be sharing this evening, as its hard to have a big emotional converstaion any other time with two small children. Who are the light of my life. I would just like to say that my husband is amazing I got so lucky when I found him. I know that often when people are abused at a young age, its hard to break free from the cycle of being a victim. I am so greatful to have found someone who will love me even after they find out my darkest secret.

Hi Christina, I’m glad I stumbled upon your article. I relate a lot to your story– woke up one day in my early twenties with the knowing of what had happened. I’ve had several memories since then but have been paralyzed with fear of telling my parents that I know, and of severing the toxic relationship with my family, even though deep down its all I’ve ever wanted to do. I feel I’m in a limbo place, where I am living two lives– the knowing of what my parents did to me, and then the half of myself that denies what happened and lets my family stay in my life/feels intense guilt for being angry at them. It has been a long slow process to this point, I first had the realization about three years ago, but I can finally feel myself getting very close to the place where I can no longer keep quiet. I know I will need to tell them and that terrifies me. But I know I will be ready soon.

I’m glad I stumbled upon your article. I am currently having some trouble with past abuse I had when I was a kid and I can’t really tell a lot of people who are close to me besides my counselor so I’m going to tell it here. My parents divorced when I was 8 and my mom moved out shortly after filing the divorce papers. I could tell the divorce was hard on my dad to deal with particularly because of an incident that happened to me shortly after mom moved out. The divorce was also hard on me because now I had two houses instead of just one and mom ended up dating an emotionally abusive monster, but that’s for later. Picture day was scheduled for Monday and mom asked my dad to make sure I conditioned my hair for picture day. I was informed of this, however I forgot to condition my hair. Dad asked whether I conditioned my hair and I said, “No, I forgot.” so the next thing I know I was in the fetal position in the tub with conditioner in my hair, naked, and my dad standing over me for about two minutes. I then got up and rinsed. I don’t remember where he was in the room while I was rinsing or whether the shower curtain was open or not but I remember feeling shame that I wasn’t in control of my own body. I don’t really remember what happened right before or after that but it really broke down any trust I have in my dad. Fast forward 20 years, and I’m living with him in my own room (bc I’m unemployed and looking for work) but I can’t shake what happened. I feel like I’m still fighting for my privacy with him in small ways because I really don’t trust him. I want to tell him what happened and that I hope he feels guilty about it every day. I keep hassling him over little things because I haven’t forgiven him over what has happened but I can’t seem to bring it up and get it out in the open and say, “You hurt me, never do that again or there will be consequences.” I want to get past this hurt and not run from it. I want to trust my dad again, even if it’s a little bit; I hate him for what he did but he’s the first man I ever loved (as usually happens to many of us with our parents). Thank you for your article, it was much more helpful than the first three I clicked on in Google. I also feel more open to tell this story, thank you for listening.

hey, wow i understand what you mean i mean i have one doubt is it necessary to be rape to be a victim of csa i was abused in such a way that no one ever found out when i was 8 years old now i remember it and its affecting me ive failed and am already on the way to my degree i cant tell my parents i cant seek help as i dont have means to i just need to know how do i inform my parents

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